Despite New York City and state health guidelines, Governor Kathy Hochul and RIOC CEO Shelton Haynes make no effort to protect Roosevelt Islanders against COVID and other respiratory infections. Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are at levels not seen since last summer, but neither has stepped up to help.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
“At Inauguration, Hochul Vows to Make New York Safer…” was the headline for a New York Times article. But that’s about as credible as her promise, shortly after taking over from Andrew Cuomo, that she’d improve accountability and transparency.
From a Roosevelt Island point of view, she did neither as our report on Haynes’s self-composed transparency plan showed. And her promise of a safer New York is equally false. Here’s the evidence:
Here’s what the New York City website says: “We strongly recommend wearing a face covering as much as possible when you are with other people in an indoor setting that is not your home, even if 6 feet of distance can be maintained.”
And New York State’s guidance is identical.
So, why isn’t the Kathy Hochul/Shelton J. Haynes administration doing what they should and protecting us?
You Can’t Be All Three
April 9, 2026, during the full board meeting of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, Fay Christian said something that should have landed harder than it did. She wished RIOC were not responsible for the tram. Then she asked what it would look like if it were given to the MTA. That was not a passing comment.
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